If you walk into a law library with a “What’s the law on x?” or “How do I sue someone?” question and do so without pencil and paper in hand, or if you do not write down what the law librarian tells you, or you’re obviously in a hurry and expecting a quick answer, please do not be surprised if you are given only very brief instructions. There are hundreds of other people in line behind you, literally and figuratively (a lot of them use email to ask these questions). Those who take notes, listen, and work hard deserve the most attention.

Do not expect to find anoff-the-shelf fill-in-the-blank legal form. You will probably have to draft your own forms. (Don’t blame the law librarian for this and please don’t say, “but they had this form in xxx state or country.” Wherever you go, there you are.)

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Online lawyers and legal websites aren’t always better-than-nothing. They are not always accurate, reliable, or cheaper than doing the work yourself at the law library or hiring a local attorney. Do your homework on how to hire a lawyer and check on that lawyer's license.

Paralegals are not attorneys. Paralegals cannot advise you on your legal options, on what the law says, or on how to draft or fill in a form. Only attorneys can. And then there are those peskyunauthorized practice of law problems. Take them very seriously; those rules are there to protect you. Yes, they are there to protect lawyers, too, but they protect you first.

The best pro se litigants usuallyconsult lawyers, often early in their cases and sometimes throughout litigation. That is how some of them become really good pro se litigants who win their cases.